Verus flinched back as the tentacles reached for his face, but then the attacking void spirit spasmed and froze in place as if something invisible had grabbed it tight.

“I have it. Close your eyes and focus on your task,” Lady Nightclaw told him in a cold commanding voice as the cultivation chamber began to fill with void ki that had been gathered from the Heaven and Earth Array.

It took a moment for Verus to calm down enough to obey, but after giving the spirit above him one last suspicious glance, he closed his eyes and reached out with his senses to study the captive specter. Despite being sealed for who knew how long, it was very much alive and far more powerful than him. The Great Elder was holding it in place though, and she was undoubtedly extremely powerful, so Verus pushed his senses deeper into the spirit in an attempt to find its core.

This was a creature of void ki. He could learn much from it. Even when held firm, the void ki within the spirit cycled through its form in endless loops, and at the heart of the being was its core, a sphere made from dense void essence. The spirit shivered as Verus’s awareness slipped into its core, but the young disciple didn’t attack. He was here just to observe and learn.

Despite its power and strange nature, the spirit’s core was a surprisingly simple thing. There was a thin shell of void essence around an empty space with a dense marble of void essence at the center. It was strange. The marble seemed to be amplifying and producing void ki, but the negative energy created nothing. Instead, it destroyed whatever specks of matter entered the core, which in turn seemed to be producing a powerful suction which pulled on the outer shell of the core. This pull also agitated the void ki within the core, almost like it was feeding it.

Disconnected from his body, Verus’s consciousness floated inside the spirit, feeling the movements of its ki as if it were his own. The spirit’s ki called to him and harmonized with the tiny amount of void ki his own core produced. Round and round the void ki went. It was drawn into the spirit’s form, cycled through its ki system and then absorbed by the essence in its core to fuel its growth, for this essence could in turn be used to control and create more ki.

Hours went by as Verus lost himself in the strange twisting patterns of void ki and how the spirit built its core. As understanding slowly came to him, he copied the patterns as best he could, and finally began creating a marble of void essence at the center of his core that mimicked that of the spirit.

As void ki flooded into the essence shell he’d created earlier, it annihilated the human ki already in there, sending a cold shiver down Verus’s spine and throwing his internal ki flow into chaos. He persisted, drawing in ever more void ki and using the patterns of the spirit to condense the ki into a simple marble of void essence. It took quite a lot of trial and error, but the great elder was there to guide him. With her hands on his shoulders, she could not only give him advice but also directly nudge his ki.

The birth of this strange essence caused Verus’s core to shudder and change once again. The outer shell trembled as a strong force began trying to pull it in and tear it apart, but it held. Several minutes later, Verus managed to stabilize the tiny marble of void essence. It would no longer collapse without his attention, so Verus opened his eyes and took a deep gasping breath. He needed a break.

“Good! Good. I don’t think we need this spirit any longer,” the Great Elder said as an unseen force forced the spirit floating before Verus back into its sealing stone.

“I think I’ve got the technique for creating void essence down,” Verus remarked.

The great elder walked in front of him and nodded. “Yes, the basic pattern of your cultivation technique and path has taken shape, young one. Truthfully, it isn’t much, but your new core will at least allow you to control large amounts of void ki and use void enlightenment to ascend. There is still much you must do though.”

Verus smiled as he listened. Despite her negative tone, he was beyond proud of his accomplishment. Learning to create void ki was a huge step forward for him.

“From now on you will stay in this chamber and continue to cultivate void ki until your void essence reaches its limits. The amount you have now is pitiful and won’t take you to the Tempered Realm. Once you’ve done that, you will need to develop an actual cultivation technique that grows both your void essence and the essence of your shell at the same time, for your core will be destroyed if it becomes unbalanced.”

Since she was no longer needed after that, the great elder took the spirit and left Verus alone to cultivate void ki. Even with the cultivation chamber, another medicinal pill, and his outer shell already in place, this wasn’t a fast process. It took over a week for Verus to build up his void essence to a proper level. Thankfully, he was allowed to stop to eat and sleep in the guest room.

With his cultivation done for now, Verus took a moment to experiment with his new power. The void essence and ki contained within his core greatly increased his ability to produce and control void ki. His pulling and sticking technique was many times stronger, allowing him to use it on objects as heavy as a thick tome.

There were still problems though. The void ki didn’t mingle with human ki very well. Unless tightly controlled, the two destroyed each other when they mixed, so it was very difficult to use both at the same time.

Verus threw a punch and channeled void ki through his arm. The void ki did little to boost his strength and the ki emitted from his fist still only created a weak explosion that was too soft to hurt anyone. He really needed some better techniques. Was he going to have to develop those by himself as well?

“Enough with that foolishness. Get back into the circle,” the great elder announced as she stepped into the room.

Verus blushed sheepishly and dropped his arm as he turned to face her. Surprisingly, Elder Caligo had also come in behind her. Verus hadn’t seen him since his first day in the manor, over a week ago.

The first thing that the great elder did once Verus was back in the circle was help him combine his essence creation techniques into one proper cultivation technique. While this was happing, Elder Caligo was observing and writing on a scroll.

Once they were done, the gloomy man gave Verus an polite nod. “Congratulations, young disciple. You’ve actually managed to create a cultivation technique of your own. Very few cultivators ever perform such a feat, for rare are the seekers of immortality who dare leave the beaten path.”

Surprised by the unexpected praise. Verus beamed proudly back. “Thank you, elder. Your praise and support mean a lot to me.”

Lady Nightclaw snorted rudely. “A laudable feat to be sure, but only academically. Most cultivators possess a much more powerful cultivation technique than the one you’ve managed to come up with.”

“Is it really so weak?” Verus asked sullenly as he got up to stretch his stiff muscles.

“Yes. The outer shell will aid your human ki and devotion abilities somewhat, but it will need maintenance and grant you no special abilities beyond protecting you from the void ki within it. Your void essence structure is also incredibly simple and thus grants you no special benefits either. Similarly, the crude nature of your core makes its efficiency average at best.”

Verus grimaced. It was true that most the other techniques he knew about, like the Path of Imperial Might or the Path of Gathering Storms, granted their users powerful abilities. His new void technique did no such thing.

“Is there no way to improve it?”

The old lady nodded, which caused loose strands of long white hair to fall across her face. “Of course, there are at least three I can think of. First, find a master of void ki to help you. Second, slowly master void ki and improve it yourself over hundred of years using trial and error.”

Verus deflated. Neither of those options were possible or helpful for him. Why did his attunement have to be so rare? “What’s the third option?”

Elder Caligo and his master exchanged a quick look.

“The third option is why we’re here, and also the only reason I agreed to help you with this foolish quest of yours in the first place,” the great elder explained as she smiled coldly at Verus, sending a shiver down his spine. “When a cultivator is ascending to the Tempered Realm, it is possible for them to undergo something known as true tempering. This process allows them to gain special insight into ki that can be used to improve their cultivation.”

Verus was instantly suspicious. “And you think I should do this?”

“The downside is that it makes ascending more difficult and thus more dangerous. For most cultivators, this is a poor trade-off. Their techniques have been honed for generations after all, which isn’t the case for you. True tempering is the only thing that will allow you to bring your technique to an adequate level.”

“What do I have to do?”

“It’s actually rather simple. During your ascension, after seizing control of the ki that will attempt to destroy you, don’t absorb it right away. Instead, you must use your enlightenment to connect to the eternal plane and empower your ascension. To do this, a cultivator must possess an unusually strong spiritual understanding of the element they are attempting to use.”

That sounded more than a little vague to Verus, especially since he had no doubt that anything that complicated an ascension would be dangerous. “And you think I can do this?”

“You don’t have a choice, but don’t worry yourself too much. I sensed that you had a strong spiritual insight into your ki the moment I first saw you, almost as if you touched upon the eternal before.”

Verus had done so, and he’d barely survived the experience. “Great one, I apologize, but I do not understand why you want me to do this.”

“Because you’re useless to me otherwise,” Lady Nightclaw explained as she gave him a cold look with her disquieting black eyes. “After sinking so many resources into you, others will naturally associate us, so you must be the best. Anything less would be an insult to me, and won’t be tolerated. You will draw out your full potential using true tempering, or you will die. Regardless, isn’t that what you want? Did you not say you would do anything for power?”

Verus managed to keep his face neutral and not show his displeasure. This was exactly the sort of behaviour he’d come to expect from the sect, merciless and selfish. She wasn’t wrong about his choice though. If true tempering was what he needed to do to become stronger, then he’d put his life on the line and do it. That was his resolution.

“I shall do my best to uphold your expectations,” Verus replied as he gave her a small formal bow.

The great elder normally wasn’t one to wait on other people, but she knew better than to push Verus directly into ascending without a break. Thus, he was given the rest of the day off to rest and exercise in one of the manor’s gardens. It was a small private courtyard lined by tall hedges.

As Verus walked to and from his room, he carefully kept to the areas he’d been told he could access. He didn’t see any sign of his host or Elder Caligo, and he only caught occasional glances of the butler and the shadow constructs that seemed to maintain the building. From what he could see, the entire manor was an empty, dark, and forbidding place.

The next morning, Verus was awakened by the butler, who promptly escorted him out of the guest room and back to the ritual chamber. Elder Caligo and his master were already there, waiting. The white-haired ancient woman’s pitch-black eyes stared intently at Verus as he walked to the center of the ritual circle without being told. Immediately, a flood of ki began streaming into the chamber via the inbuilt array. It was mostly void, but there were hints of human and devotion as well.

Taking a deep breath, Verus steeled himself and met the great elder’s disturbing gaze. “I’m ready.”

“Good. Then, prepare yourself for ascension,” she replied with an expectant smile. “Heaven itself will judge your worthiness and either reward your efforts or destroy you utterly.”